Blood Heat

by Maria Lima

  “Good idea,” I said. “This Jacob guy, either of you get a feel for him? He never really engaged with us.”

  “Nothing much,” Niko answered. “Wolf, youngish, seems fairly dim.”

  “Dim?” Tucker asked. “As in not too bright, or low power?”

  Niko indulgently leaned back, turned his head, and kissed Tucker’s jaw. “I have no indications of his intelligence level, love. Dim as in power. He did not impress me.”

  “Me, either,” Tucker agreed. “He’s probably strong, or Marcus would never have brought him along as a guard nor chosen him as third. Smart, no doubt, but not powerful.”

  “Mark hides his power well,” I said. “Couldn’t Jacob do the same?”

  “Why do you ask?” Adam seemed puzzled as he put the phone down. “He is third, chosen by the Fenrir. Do you suspect him of anything? Bea is fine with Ianto coming over, by the way.”

  “She’s not freaked out or anything?”

  “I kept it simple. Said that Mark’s family had a bit of trouble, so we felt that having someone there made you feel better.”

  “She bought that?”

  Adam gave me a raised brow. “I can be very persuasive.”

  “Did you glamour her?” I frowned at the thought.

  “I did not. She was tired and I told her you’d asked me to do this. She trusts you, Keira.”

  A flip-floppy feeling ran through me. Bea trusted me. After the whole Pete Garza incident, she really had forgiven me. “Thank you,” I whispered to Adam.

  He just leaned over and kissed my cheek. “So what was this discussion about Jacob? Do you suspect him of something?”

  I shook my head. “Not really. It’s just that he’s new, per Mark. New equals unknown quantity.”

  “To us, perhaps, but we’re not privy to Marcus’s knowledge of his pack. He might have known Jacob previously and only recently invited him to become a part of this pack.”

  “True. I hadn’t thought of that,” I said.

  “So what’s our plan?” Tucker asked.

  “I’ll check on Bea in the morning.” I drained my coffee. “Let Mark drive your van to the deli and we can meet up with them there. He, Lev, and Dixxi have a business to run, despite all this. I figure we can take Lev with us out to the acreage and the others can stay at the deli, business as usual.”

  “Do you think Mark will go along with this? He’s Fenrir.”

  “Tough tortillas. At this point, we’re the boss of them. As far as I’m concerned, we’re taking over right now. I don’t want any more injuries on my watch.”

  “Do you think they’re still alive? The missing wolves?”

  Were they? Could they be? Possible scenarios flew through my brain as I thought. The only real practical Occam’s razor–worthy scenario—I shook my head. “Not a chance. That area of land they bought may be unimproved and out a ways, but it’s not that much of the back of beyond. It’s fairly close to some developed subdivisions. Mark may be book-learned, but he doesn’t seem to be the most wolfish of the lot.” I stifled another yawn. “He’s not what I expected,” I admitted.

  “What was that?” Adam murmured into my hair. “Did you expect an older version of the boy you met before?”

  I elbowed him and he chuckled. “Since I had no idea that was who we were meeting, no. I did expect someone more in tune with the wolf, though. I guess I expected warrior-predator and got more Bill Nye Science Guy. I mean, what do y’all think? I’ve met other werewolves before, just not locally. They’ve all seemed a bit wilder, less—I don’t know—civilized?”

  A thoughtful expression crossed my brother’s face. “Frankly, Keira, I’m inclined to think that this tribe is less wolf than human. Mark seems to have power, but it skews to lust, not predator. When he released power at the stadium, we all got his flavor, and it wasn’t at all what I expected, either. I’m at a loss to explain it.”

  “You’ve known other packs, right?” I asked.

  Tucker nodded. “Several. I do remember Mark’s great-grandfather when he arrived in Texas. He was a strong old coot and ran that pack like a well-greased machine. When I met them then, sometime in the early twenties, I think, I had no doubt that these were wolves. Gregor seems more the old flavor of wolf than Mark,” Tucker added. “Hard to tell since we’ve only seen his human form, but he feels more, more.”

  “The Fenrir’s power seemed rather focused more on pheromones than on actual power,” Adam ventured. “Perhaps he was nervous and defensive?”

  “It’s a thought,” I said. “He did say he wanted to vet us, make sure we weren’t Gigi-like. Which, granted, is perfectly understandable. I think tomorrow, we split groups up and pair theirs with ours. I’d rather at least one of us is there to handle anything unpleasant.”

  “Wise decision,” Niko said. “If Marcus is the most powerful of the pack, then those with you will be less capable.”

  “Exactly.” I took Adam’s hand and turned my head a bit to see his face. “I wish we could do this at night,” I said. “I’d feel more comfortable with a couple of vampires—”

  “Sneaking around beside you?” Adam smiled.

  “You know me well.” I grinned at him, then at Niko.

  “I’d still like for a couple of us to go there at night,” Niko said. “We were shot at and I want to see if these so-called hunters are prowling there after dark.”

  Adam agreed. “Yes, sound suggestion.”

  “I’d like to go tonight, back to the place we were shot first.”

  “Niko, I’d love the help,” I said. “Do you really think it’s necessary to go out tonight? It’s so late already. We’ve only got a couple of good hours until dawn. You’ll never make it in time.”

  “Damnation.” He closed his eyes. “All these ‘alarums and excursions’ have truly destroyed my time sense.”

  “You’re tired,” I said gently. “We’ll go out there and see what we can find out tomorrow. Then you can do your night recon, okay?”

  “Of course,” he said and smiled at me, a brief nod acknowledging my suggestion.

  “And even though no one seems to think this could be the work of that kid who deliberately cleated Greg, I’m not scratching him or anyone else off my list just yet. Liz could maybe check him out while we’re searching.”

  “I think Liz should stay with Bea while we go out,” Tucker said. “I’d like Ianto and Rhys to come with us.”

  “Fair enough. Perhaps afterwards, Ianto could check out the church and see if he could track the boy down,” Adam suggested. “Use some sort of ruse. I’d like to meet this service group of theirs.”

  “Ianto could always see about hiring the group to come, I don’t know, adopt a road or something for cleanup. He’s good at bonding with teens,” I said. “That’ll leave us Tucker, Rhys, and me to go with Lev and Luka.”

  “I believe that you and your brothers should meet up with the wolves as early as possible. It’s not going to be any cooler tomorrow,” Adam reminded me.

  “Good point.” Tucker gave Niko a swift peck on the cheek, then slid out from behind him. “More coffee?”

  “I’m good. Thanks.” I watched him as he trotted into the kitchen and emptied the last of the pot into his mug. “Why don’t we meet up with Ianto at Bea’s around six thirty or seven? Then we can go out to their property before it gets too hot to be outside.”

  “Sounds good to me. Frankly, I’m pretty beat.” With a glint in his eye belying his words, he motioned to Niko, who flowed up into a standing position as if he were boneless. Beautiful grace, my vampires and my lovely brother.

  “Goodnight, my lieges.” With a flourish and a bow, Niko laughed, then took Tucker’s hand and pulled him out the door.

  “Those two,” I chuckled and nuzzled into Adam’s neck. “I’m not so tired as all that,” I teased. “I could deal with a lack of sleep tomorrow.”

  He put a hand on my cheek and turned my face to his, holding my gaze with intensity. “Then I believe I have a means to keep us b
oth occupied for a while.”

  “Do you?” I murmured just before he captured my mouth in a searing kiss. For the next couple of hours, the only nonhuman on my mind was my vampire.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  SIX O’CLOCK IN THE morning comes way the fuck too early when one is a night bird. Even though I’d planned this and was tired enough to sleep during the night, by the time Adam and I had worn each other out, it was close to six. I showered and readied myself for a long day. Not that I was complaining about my lack of sleep … nope, not at all.

  As my brothers, Liz, and I drove out of the Wild Moon heading to town, I noticed the van was gone.

  “They sure left early,” I said as I turned down the farm-to-market road.

  “Mark said he needed to be at the deli for an early delivery,” Liz said.

  “Hope they got some rest. How was Gregor after you left them, Liz?”

  “Better,” she said. “He still needs to rest, though. He’s at the ranch with John’s son, Travis, who’s keeping an eye on him. I have him on some prescription painkillers John happened to have. Should keep the kid conked out. Forced bed rest.” She half-smiled but quickly sobered. “That gunshot wound was pretty bad. Mark reamed him another one after I finished the healing. Couldn’t fix the whole thing, though. I’m too rusty.”

  “Damn that boy, anyway.”

  “He’s a tough one,” Tucker agreed. “He’s the next Fenrir, you know.”

  “I thought Lev was the second,” Liz said.

  “He is, but from what I’ve seen, he’s not Fenrir material,” Tucker explained. “Greg, though—in some ways, he seems stronger than Mark already. He just needs more maturity.”

  “Yeah, we were talking about this last night,” I said. “Greg’s got more than just the pretty and the pheromones going for him.”

  “You know, that could put another face on this situation,” Liz ventured. “You think the boy is the center of what’s going on?”

  “Could be,” Rhys piped up. “From what you’ve told me, the boy seems to be a direct target of someone.”

  “Then why the missing wolves?” Tucker asked. “Doesn’t make sense. I agree Greg’s got his own set of problems, but I don’t see a connection to the rest.”

  “We’ve got too many victims and not enough motive for any of it,” I agreed. “We’ll just have to find something, some way of narrowing this down today.” I pulled the car into the parking lot of Rio Seco’s one and only shopping area—a small strip mall shaped like an “L,” Bea’s Place at the west end, the deli making up the short side of the “L” on the east. Tucker’s van wasn’t visible, but there were signs of life inside the deli.

  “I’m going over to say hi to Bea and collect Ianto,” I said. “Why don’t y’all go on over to the deli and I’ll be there in a flash.”

  I parked the car in front of the deli. The door opened and Gregor limped out, grinning.

  “Hey, y’all. Morning. Mark’s fired up the grill. Who wants what?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Go on in. Tucker, order me some food. Something with lots of meat. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  Tucker, who could never let an opportunity pass, grinned at me. “Lots of meat, eh, little sister? You wear yourself out last night?”

  “Shut it, bro,” I snapped. “Wasn’t like you two weren’t doing the same.”

  “Never said we weren’t.” With a laugh, the three of them followed a red-faced Gregor into the deli.

  I trotted across the lot. As I reached the door, I suddenly realized that something was off. The main lights weren’t lit in the dining area, only the regular night lights. Fuck, what was wrong? Bea normally opened at six for breakfast. Was she okay? As I reached into my pocket for my phone, I saw her walk through the kitchen door and behind the counter. She didn’t see me. I pulled on the door handle. Locked. The bells on the door jingled a little, though. Bea turned her head. The great lump of anxiety in my belly vanished as she greeted me with a wave and a smile.

  “Hang on,” she called out and reached under the counter for the keys she normally kept there.

  “You’re closed.” Inane, much?

  “Sorry, yeah,” she said. “Ianto thought it would be a good idea to take a day off.”

  Thank you, O smarter than I, brother, I said to myself. With everything she’d learned last night, Bea deserved a day of rest. “You’re here, though?” I asked, wondering why she’d chosen to spend a day off at the café.

  “Figured it would be a good day to catch up on paperwork—orders, books, etc. Noe’s in the back. He’s going to help me with reorganizing stock. Ianto’s helping him.”

  “You feeling okay?” I asked as I followed her inside. “You seem a little peaked.”

  Bea tossed the keys back under the counter and then grabbed a pot of coffee and two mugs. I let her finish pouring, adding cream and sugar to both, then walking back to where I was still standing.

  “C’mon, chica, let’s sit.”

  Crap. This didn’t bode well.

  A sip of coffee, then a second, while I waited for her to speak. For once, I was keeping my trap shut, not pushing. Her expression was closed, pinched in a way that spoke of a restless night and little sleep. At least my own lack of sleep had been for a good reason. Damn it. I should have come back to her, left the wolves to everyone else. I was her best friend, and the only one she could talk to about the delicate details of her pregnancy, and I’d once again abandoned her.

  “Bea, I’m sorry—” I began.

  She shook her head and waved a hand. “No, no, don’t. I mean, Greg was hurt, you had to help. What else could you do?”

  “Come home with you,” I said fiercely. “I’m sorry.”

  “Hell of a thing, huh?” she said, a wobble in her voice belying her teasing tone. “I mean, you come back all whatever you are, we make up, and then whammy, I’m …” She snorted and then suddenly began to laugh—a broken, ridiculous laugh that within moments, dissolved into tears. “Keira, how do I get into these messes? I figured, okay, sure, baby. I could go through with this. Why not? I’m not getting any younger and at this rate, drooling over a hot thirty-year-old is only fantasy. He’s not even looking at me.”

  “I’m sorry—What?” She’d totally lost me there.

  “Jacob,” she sobbed. “I’m an idiot. I fell for Jacob.”

  The news hit me like a two-ton pickup. “Bea, I thought—I don’t—What about Lev? I thought you liked the guy? You’re dating him, after all.”

  “I don’t know,” Bea wailed. “He’s nice enough, really a good guy. But …”

  “No spark?”

  “A teeny one,” she admitted. “Which is why I went out with him in the first place. Long-term? I don’t know if I even have it in me to do that. Now … with everything else, I’m …” She waved her hands around wildly. “What the hell do I do?”

  “Damn it, Bea. Why on earth didn’t you tell me this last night?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “It was just that …” She threw her hands in the air. “You were already mad about me being pregnant. Throwing this on top of that? And now I have no idea what to do.”

  “I wish I could help you decide, Bea, but I’m as clueless in this as you are.” I patted her on the back. “It doesn’t matter that you didn’t tell me about Jacob, okay?” I was lying through my nearly clenched teeth. It mattered beyond the telling. Her relationship, whatever it was, with Lev was complicated enough, now she had to go throwing another wolf in the mix? Yes, this was Bea, my best friend, but damn it, this situation had just gone from uncomfortable to Jerry Springerish.

  “You have Adam,” Bea argued. “You’re settled and co-ruler with him. How is that clueless?”

  “Permanent relationships isn’t our way,” I reminded her. “Yes, I could be with Adam for decades, but that’s just a drop in the bucket for us … for both him and me. He was with Niko for at least a century, perhaps even more. I’m not intending to break our bond anytime soon, but the way
we do things is so not the way humans do. As to the wolves, I have no freaking idea.” I reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Bea, you have to tell Lev. Whether you decide to go through with this pregnancy or not, he deserves knowing. This wasn’t some random one-night stand. You dated the guy.”

  “I know, I know,” she mumbled. “I just—damn it, Keira, I don’t want to have puppies.”

  I burst out into laughter. “Oh, honey, that’s just too …”

  She gave a weak chuckle. “Yeah, too, too …” Wiping her eyes with a tissue, she turned to stare out the side window at the deli. “They seem to be doing okay with the place,” she said. “They’ve had some nice activity already this morning. Mostly droppers by, take-out orders. I’ve been watching.”

  “They going to take any of your breakfast customers?” I asked, curious to know.

  “Not really,” she said. “Most folks seem to come out of there with fancy coffees. Mark told me they weren’t going to fire up the grill for breakfast hours until there was enough traffic for us both. I did call over there and tell him to go ahead and serve breakfast today, since I wasn’t opening.”

  “Good guy, Mark,” I said. “He’s decent.”

  “They both are,” she said. “I hadn’t really paid attention, but they’re in tune, he and Lev work like a machine. I watched them one day as they were stocking. They don’t even need to talk to each other. Sometimes they’d trade words back and forth, laughing, but in another language.”

  “Armenian,” I said. “Their great-grandpa came over. He escaped the genocide by hiding in the woods as wolf. Several of their pack came over that way.”

  “He told you?”

  “Of course,” I said. “I’m their liege lady.”

  Bea faced me with wide eyes, her mouth gaping open. “You’re what?”

  “Their liege lady … I thought you knew all this. You said Tucker told you.”

  “He told me you’d Changed. That you were the Kelly heir, along with Gideon, and that you and Adam had permission to come back to Texas.”